1 £ ligan 0ailg O)N}-14 ) N )R \E NT) W F ()UlYFO \R \llS ()1' 1.4)1 T()ttL L 11 ]J H )N Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday, October 22,2013 michigandailycom KAHEIN WykAL/OIr U-M lin Chncelor uthPeron atens te Bard f Rgens metin inFlit, Mch. Frday In Finta dffernt cmpu FACULTY GOVERNANCE Senate talks health care benef its and recruit- UM-Flint has * unique challenges compared to A2 By SAM GRINGLAS Daily StaffReporter FLINT, Mich. - Just a 55-mile drive up US-23 from Ann Arbor, the University's Flint campus is by no means geographically distant. On the satellite campus, streetlight banners display the same Block 'M,' and in a conference room at the Hard- ing Mott University Center, the same regents and execu- tive officers crowded a long table at the annual meeting at the Flint campus on Friday to discuss an array of University proposals. But in many ways, UM- Flint faces very different challenges than the Univer- sity's flagship campus in Ann Arbor. In an interview Friday, UM-Flint Chancellor Ruth Person said recruiting and enrolling students presents the campus's greatest chal- lenge. "For institutions like this, continuing to have a robust enrollment in the future is always going to be a chal- lenge," Person said. Person partly blamed Michigan's decline on demo- graphic shifts, as the popula- tion ages and fewer families with children move to the state. "You can see that curve of high-school students going down," Person said. "They're gone, and they're not goingto come back immediately." But UM-Flint has coped - and excelled - in creative ways, as Jon Davidson, direc- tor of admissions- for U-M Flint, explained in a presen- tation to the regents. Undergraduate enroll- ment has increased by 22.6 percent since 2007, according to U-M Flint data. Current undergraduate enrollment is 8,555 - a record high despite a challenging recruitment climate. Davidson said enroll- ment growth is a strategic necessity. UM-Flint, like the rest of the University, has been forced to contend with shrinking state fund- ing. With the capacity for more students, Davidson said increased enrollment provides further financial resources via tuition dollars. "Clearly Ann Arbor doesn't have enrollment challenges," See CAMPUS, Page 5 Faculty and staff express concern about competitiveness By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA Daily Staff Reporter The Senate Assembly convened at Palmer Commons for a conversa- tion with faculty and administrators about proposed changes to retire- ment benefit packages after data at discussed the mostly private meet- ing in early October was'made pub-. lic. These changes are one part of a University initiative to cut spending by $120 million that will be re-invest- ed with the stated goal of making tuition more affordable. Laurita Thomas, executive vice president of human resources and the guest speaker at the meeting, said the administration will be "as transpar- ent as possible" with the faculty and staff about the changes being consid- ered and implemented. Thomas explained that the Uni- versity has guidelines in place to ensure that any policy changes made will continue to meet the standards to which faculty and staff are accus- tomed. A main concern of the Senate Assembly is that the University remains competitive as an employer, as benefits packages are often impor- tant to potential employees, Thomas also encouraged faculty to subscribe to long-term disabil- ity insurance coverage, which only a third of faculty and staff at the meet- ing said they currently have. She noted that this would also help keep the University competitive with other top institutions. Several faculty members used the open discussion to express concern about the effects policy changes will have on them, including the lack of a dependent tuition policy, which allows faculty and their dependents discounts on tuition after a period of employment, which most comparable institutions offer. Though many seemed in favor of the policy, Thomas was firmrthat the policy isn't affordable and was never on the table. Others expressed concern that making cuts to the health and retirement programs would lessen the University's credibility among See BENEFITS, Page 5 ANN ARBOR A2 city council asks pension' board to divest Members vote in favor of removing fossil fuels from stock portfolio By WILL GREENBERG Daily StaffReporter Monday's Ann Arbor City Council meeting continued the discussion on approv- ing the addition of Ypsilanti Township as a member of the Ann Arbor Area Trans- portation Authority and finally reached a vote on divestment from fossil fuel industries. A resolution asking the pension board to was passed Monday evening follow- ing an amendment from Councilmember Christo- pher Taylor (D-Ward 3) that softened the resolu- tion language to "request" action from the pension board rather than "urge" the board. Arguments for and against the resolution echoed those voiced at previous meetings: Those in favor are looking to support the mostly symbolic resolution, whereas those opposed raised concerns of the implications of actually divesting. LSA sophomore Laura Hobbs, an organizer of the Divest and Invest Campaign on campus, said in an inter- view Monday evening that the passed resolution was a success for the group - even with the lighter wording. "Ann Arbor really made the decision tonight to join a handful of other cities nationally that have commit- ted to divestment," Hobbs said. "However it's worded, I think taking that step is great." COUNCIL VOTES ON ADDING YPSLIANTI TOWNSHIP TO AAATA The decision to add Ypsi- lanti Township as a mem- ber of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority was postponed by an 8-3 vote following a long discussion between members of City Council and Michael Ford, the chief executive officer for The Ride. Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje spoke in favor of adding membership, saying the seat is long overdue and won't affect specific budget- ary issues. Ford repeatedly stressed to council members that Ypsilanti Township has met all the requirements laid out in the past and the pro- posal asked for including the township only as an AAATA member. In an interview after the meeting, Ford, having spo- See COUNCIL, Page 5 CAMPUS LIFE Founder of Reddit discusses innovation Ohanian answers questions from students at event By SHOHAM GEVA Daily StaffReporter Reddit co-founder Alexis Oha- nian, didn't give a typical speech. But then again, Ohanian, who has the self-professed aim of "mak- ing the world suck less," isn't your typical speaker. Ohanian, co-founded what is now one of the Web's most visited sites with friend Steve Huffman after the two graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005. He spoke here Monday night to pro- mote his new book, "Without Their Permission: How The 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed." The book discusses the power of Inter- net entrepreneurship and how it can be used to achieve philan- thropicgoals. The event, co-sponsored by the School of Information and the University's chapter of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity. The talk drew a crowd of about 500 University students, faculty mem- bers and the public. Ohanian started off the event with a 40-minute presentation discussing why he wrote the book and finished with a catalogue of pictures, as he jokingly compared images of the Wolverine action fig- See REDDIT, Page 5 PATTERN OF EXCELLENCE NICHOLAS WILLIAMS/Daily Art & Design junior Katie Parks weaves on a loom in the Fibers studio in the School of Art & Design Monday. The weaving, made from yarn and raw wool, can take upwards of 75 hours to complete. RESEARCH Symposium showcases research partnerships with Israeli scientists Lec Jsn This two of ties, Te Techn Institu versity for the nership sium. Oct. 18 Monda sentati sions. aderS from top The partnership conducts and funds joint scientific inves- ael instituitons tigations, student and faculty exchanges, institutional collab- a colleagues in orative ventures and technology commercialization. Ann Arbor Cardiology prof. David Pin- sky, the symposium's coordi- By SARA YUFA nator and the director of the For TheDaily University's cardiovascular cen- ter, said the goal was to bring weekend, scientists from people of different backgrounds Israel's premier universi- together to make breakthrough chnion Israel Institute of discoveries in human health. ology and the Weizmann He added that the symposium te of Science, joined Uni- works to promote academic Medical School faculty freedom, regardless of global annual UM-Israel Part- politics. for Research Sympo- "There's no politics behind The conference ran from this; there's not religion behind until Oct. 21, concluding this," Pinsky said. "It's just say- y after more than 35 pre- ing that science is an area of ons and discussion ses- inquiry and discovery and the benefits are for all mankind" Eliezer Shalev, dean of medi- cine at Technion in Haifa, Israel, said collaboration is the key to success in research. "Collaboration is the right means to get to a good fruitful research because there are very few scientists that they can do by themselves all of the work thatyou need," Shalevsaid. "The life science and medical science has had a huge change in the last 30 years on the verge with engi- neering, physics, mathematics, computer science." The first symposium, which focused. on cardiovascular dis- ease, was held in Ann Arbor'in 2011 after philanthropist D. Dan Kahn funded the effort to bring the University and Technion together in research. In 2012, Pinsky led a group See RESEARCH, Page5 WEATHER HI: 50 TOMORROW LO: 31 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. NEW ON MICHIGANDARLY.COM The Podium: The true severity of income inequality MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS INDEX NEWS ........... .S........... 2 SPORTS..... .......,.8 Vol. CXXIV, No.15 OPINION.......................4 SUDOKU ................. 2 @2013TheMichiganDaily ARTS .............................6 CLA'SSlFIl E .D...,,.......... 6 michioondoily~cm 1 .. +i ;a s , i" a .,. {, ,. ... ,: kf,^;_ a xN + e a. ... ... .;-R;t. ; z :ii; 'a . ,° -.. ., . .. ..